...Build A Stained Glass Window

How To Build A Stained Glass Window

There are many ways to build a stained glass window: Using lead came, copper foil, dalle de verre, and lamination. Here at Kessler Studios, we work primarily with lead came. We like it that the many widths of lead came gives us another artist embellishment to work with. Occasionally we use copper foil for detail work.

Artistic stained glass lamination is a "hot" technique, used by many studios to created complex designs without the use of lead came. The look is quite different, but the technique offers a lot of artistic possibilities. The slide show below concludes with a section on silicon adhesive technology used to make laminated art glass panels.

Slideshow of how a stained glass window is built:

The first step in building a window is... well, designing it!

Sometimes we build a maquette to help our clients visualize the artwork.

Cindy works on the full-scale drawing.

Each section is duplicated for patterning.

Every piece is identified by window number, color #, and any shading grain.

Pattern pieces are sorted together.

Glass arrives from Lamberts.

Cindy uses paper patterns to select were to mark the glass.

A typical commercial glass cutter.

Cut pieces are stored in slots marked with window number.

Cindy does a final color check before releasing a panel for fabrication.

Building a window is like putting together a giant puzzle.

It takes a lot of skill to weave the lead in a manner that honors the flowing lines of Cindy's designs.

Puttying a window in the "Mud Room".

Buffing the lead came darkens it nicely.

A finished window, ready for crating and shipping.

Taking a moment to admire the panel before wrapping it up.

Wrapped and crated. Ready to go!

The Silicon Adhesive Lamination Technique

Mixing the silicon, then pouring it onto the clear base glass.

Placing the art glass onto the silicon, pushing out any bubbles as we go.

Taping the glass pieces in place while the silicon cures.

The result is an optically clear, permanent bond that allow a glass design without any lead came.